As the number of tourists and visitors increases in Summit and Wasatch counties, so do flights through Heber Valley Airport.

Analysis of flight arrivals and departures shows Heber Valley airport has become busier since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The busiest times for the past three years have been vacations and summers. In 2020 and 2021, an average of 40 to 50 flights per day to or from Heber Airport from summer to fall. This is double the number of flights during the same period in 2019.

Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays also show an increase in air traffic in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019.

December flights nearly doubled from 2019 to 2020 and have remained high this month. Flights have gone from an average of 16 flights per day in 2019 to 31 in 2020. This December saw even more daily traffic – peaking at 49 flights on December 23, before winter storms hit the region.

The airport and Heber City are working on a master plan to improve security arrangements. The recent increase in traffic puts more emphasis on this plan, especially with larger planes using the airport more.

“We’re going to keep the master planning process, saying, ‘We have this certain amount of land; what are we going to do with it? ‘ Says Travis Biggs, manager of the Heber Valley airport. “Because we can either encourage aircraft traffic by installing another giant [fixed base operator] and provide services for the jets, or we can use it for things that are more beneficial to the community and provide jobs, like a restaurant, stuff for our little pilots so they have something to do instead to just take care of the jets.

Biggs says the community’s contribution is important. He encourages people to view frequently asked questions and answers on airport-related topics, the master plan schedule and the dates of public meetings at hebervalleyflightpath.com.

He also invites the public to visit the airport to find out more in person.

“Basically anytime someone wants to know more about the airport, they can come and talk to the airport manager,” he says. “A few times a month we have open houses, and if people want to come, they can come to the airport and look at charts, facts and maps, ask questions in person and meet with the city manager, engineers and the airport manager. “

For a more detailed analysis of airport traffic over the past few years, visit flightaware.com.